Dynamic generation of trick mode data

Abstract

Generating trick mode data from streaming media content is described herein. A media device receives streaming media content. A content server streams media content to the media device configured to identify a plurality of key frames within the media content. The content server receives the plurality of key frames from the media device. The content server further generates trick mode data for the media content based on the received plurality of key frames.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A media device, comprising:
 a memory configured to store at least a portion of trick mode data; 
 a network interface configured to receive at least media content from a content server; and 
 a processor operatively coupled to the network interface and the memory, wherein the processor is configured to:
 receive the media content from the content server, 
 receive a first portion of the trick mode data from the content server, wherein the trick mode data includes image frames that correspond to frames of the media content, 
 store the first portion of the trick mode data on the memory, 
 receive a request to perform a trick mode operation on the media content, 
 retrieve the first portion of the trick mode data from the memory or a second portion of the trick mode data from the content server based at least on a determination of whether the request to perform the trick mode operation can be executed by the media device using the first portion of the trick mode data, and 
 execute the trick mode operation on the media content based at least on the request and the first portion or the second portion of the trick mode data. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The media device of  claim 1 , wherein the first portion of the trick mode data is received by the media device out-of-band from the media content such that a reception of the first portion of the trick mode data does not affect a reception of the media content. 
     
     
       3. The media device of  claim 1 , wherein the trick mode data includes a chronological timeline of the image frames that are reduced in size from the corresponding frames of the media content. 
     
     
       4. The media device of  claim 3 , wherein to retrieve the first portion of the trick mode data or the second portion of the trick mode data, the processor is further configured to:
 determine whether the request to perform the trick mode operation can be executed by the media device using the first portion of the trick mode data, and 
 retrieve, from the content server, the second portion of the trick mode data based at least on a determination that the request to perform the trick mode operation cannot be executed by the media device using the first portion of the trick mode data. 
 
     
     
       5. The media device of  claim 4 , wherein to execute the trick mode operation, the processor is further configured to:
 execute the trick mode operation based at least on the request using at least the second portion of the trick mode data. 
 
     
     
       6. The media device of  claim 3 , wherein to retrieve the first portion of the trick mode data or the second portion of the trick mode data, the processor is further configured to:
 determine whether the request to perform the trick mode operation can be executed by the media device using the first portion of the trick mode data; and 
 retrieve, from the memory, the first portion of the trick mode data based at least on a determination that the request to perform the trick mode operation can be executed by the media device using the first portion of the trick mode data. 
 
     
     
       7. The media device of  claim 6 , wherein to execute the trick mode operation, the processor is further configured to:
 execute the trick mode operation based on the request using at least the first portion of the trick mode data. 
 
     
     
       8. The media device of  claim 5 , wherein:
 the first portion of the trick mode data is generated by a different media device for the media content, and 
 the second portion of the trick mode data is generated by the content server for the media content. 
 
     
     
       9. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 receiving, by a media device, media content from a content server; 
 receiving, by the media device, a first portion of trick mode data from the content server, wherein the trick mode data includes image frames that correspond to frames of the media content; 
 storing, by the media device, the first portion of the trick mode data on a memory of the media device; 
 receiving, by the media device, a request to perform a trick mode operation on the media content; 
 retrieving the first portion of the trick mode data from the memory or a second portion of the trick mode data from the content server based at least on a determination of whether the request to perform the trick mode operation can be executed by the media device using the first portion of the trick mode data; and 
 executing, by the media device, the trick mode operation on the media content based at least on the request and the first portion or the second portion of the trick mode data. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first portion of the trick mode data includes at least one image frame that corresponds to at least one key frame from the media content. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the first portion of the trick mode data is generated by a different media device for the media content. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first portion of the trick mode data is received by the media device out-of-band from the media content such that the receiving of the first portion of the trick mode data does not affect the receiving of the media content. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the trick mode data includes a chronological timeline of the image frames that are reduced in size from the corresponding frames of the media content. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 13 , wherein the retrieving, by the media device, further comprises:
 determining, by the media device, whether the request to perform the trick mode operation can be executed by the media device using the first portion of the trick mode data; and 
 retrieving, by the media device from the content server, the second portion of the trick mode data based on a determination that the request to perform the trick mode operation cannot be executed by the media device using the first portion of the trick mode data. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the executing, by the media device, the trick mode operation further comprises:
 executing, by the media device, the trick mode operation based on the request using at least the second portion of the trick mode data. 
 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 13 , wherein:
 the first portion of the trick mode data is generated by a different media device for the media content, and 
 the second portion of the trick mode data is generated by the content server for the media content. 
 
     
     
       17. A tangible computer-readable device having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 receiving at least a portion of media content from a content server; 
 receiving a first portion of trick mode data from the content server, wherein the trick mode data includes image frames that correspond to frames of the media content; 
 storing the first portion of the trick mode data on a memory of the computing device; 
 receiving a request to perform a trick mode operation on the media content; 
 retrieving the first portion of the trick mode data from the memory or a second portion of the trick mode data from the content server based at least on a determination of whether the request to perform the trick mode operation can be executed by the media device using the first portion of the trick mode data; and 
 executing the trick mode operation on the media content based at least on the request and the first portion or the second portion of the trick mode data. 
 
     
     
       18. The tangible computer-readable device of  claim 17 , wherein
 the request to perform the trick mode operation is a request to perform a fast forward operation to a point in time of the media content that has not been received by the computing device, and 
 the trick mode data includes a chronological timeline of the image frames that are reduced in size from the corresponding frames of the media content. 
 
     
     
       19. The tangible computer-readable device of  claim 18 , wherein the operation of retrieving further comprises:
 determining whether the first portion of the trick mode data includes at least one key frame beyond the point in time of the media content that has not been received by the computing device; and 
 retrieving the second portion of the trick mode data from the content server based at least on a determination that the first portion of the trick mode data does not include the at least one key frame beyond the point in time of the media content that has not been received by the computing device. 
 
     
     
       20. The tangible computer-readable device of  claim 19 , wherein the operation of executing the trick mode operation further comprises:
 identifying a location in the second portion of the trick mode data to begin the fast forward operation based at least on a comparison between at least one key frame identifier in the media content and at least one image frame identifier in the second portion of the trick mode data; and 
 executing the fast forward operation on the media content using at least the identified location and the second portion of the trick mode data.